64GB or 128GB solid-state drive (of which about 25 or 89 GB are usable)

Networking

802.11a/b/g/n with 2x2 MIMO antennas, Bluetooth 4.0

Ports

Mini DisplayPort, headphones, microSDXC, USB 3.0, Cover port

Size

10.82×6.77×0.52" (274×172×13.2 mm)

Weight

1.99lb (0.903kg)

Battery

42Wh

Warranty

1 year

Starting price

$899

Price as reviewed

$1128.99

Sensor

Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer

Other perks

48W charger with 5W USB port

The screen resolution, however, is substantially lower than those of its comparably-priced competitors. The touchpads of those covers are wretched (in the Surface review, having used them for a week, I thought they were poor; with several months under my belt, I now think they're downright bad). The processor is underpowered.

But the biggest issue with Surface RT is its operating system: Windows RT. Windows RT can only (officially) run applications using the Metro user interface and the WinRT API. These were thin on the ground when I reviewed Surface RT, and they're thin on the ground today.

Surface with Windows 8 Pro (hereafter known as "Surface Pro") is Microsoft's second computer. It is a straightforward proposition: take Surface RT, give it an Intel processor, a high resolution screen, and stylus support. Next, make all the requisite changes to cope with the greater power consumption and heat output that the x86 processor implies—and all the software compatibility and performance that x86 brings.

Like Surface RT, but a little bit bigger

On the left, Surface RT with the magenta Touch Cover. On the right, Surface Pro with the black Type Cover.

In isolation, the Surface Pro looks indistinguishable from its smaller sibling at first glance. It has the same black VaporMg finish that feels good in the hand and should resist everyday wear-and-tear with aplomb, and it has kept the trademark kickstand with its satisfyingly reassuring snap.

Put them side-by-side and the differences start to appear. The Pro is 4mm thicker, at 13.46mm compared to 9.3mm for the RT. It's 0.5lb heaver, coming in at a hair under 2lb. Its other dimensions are unchanged, with the screen retaining the 10.6 inch diagonal. This has been upgraded, however; it's now a Full HD 1920×1080 device, replacing the 1366×768 unit in the RT model.

Surface RT on the left, Surface Pro on the right.

Closer inspection reveals the ports have been rejigged. The USB port moves from the machine's right side to its left, and although the port isn't the tell-tale blue (presumably to enhance the machine's aesthetics) it supports USB 3.0, compared to the ARM system's 2.0. The microSDXC slot, which in the Surface RT was positioned behind Surface's kickstand, is now more conveniently placed on the right hand side of the machine. It's easier to swap cards, but a little less clean-looking. Also on the right is a mini-DisplayPort, uh, port, replacing the micro-HDMI of the older unit.

The placement of the mini-DisplayPort is inferior. The microHDMI port on Surface RT is more or less where the microSDXC slot is on Surface Pro. This allows the power connector to be attached with the cable extending down, which means the little white LED at the top of the power connector, indicating whether a connection has been made, is visible.

On Surface Pro, if you use the power connector in that orientation it fouls the mini-DisplayPort connector. The power connector can connect in both orientations, so it's possible to use it "upside down," with the cable coming out the top. But then, the LED indicator is no longer visible.

Enlarge/ On the left side of the device we have the USB port and volume rocker.

The placement of other buttons and devices is unchanged. The power button remains on the top right, with a volume rocker and headphone port on the left, a charging connector on the right, and 720p cameras front and rear. The Windows button is centered beneath the screen. And on the bottom there's the cover port, for connecting to the same selection of Touch and Type Covers as the ARM version supports.

Enlarge/ Surface Pro's right hand side, with microSDXC at the top, the power connector in the middle, and mini-DisplayPort at the bottom.

The power connector retains the same magnetic connector, and this too is identical between the devices. Surface Pro's power adaptor is bigger, rated at 48W rather than 24W. It should in principle be able to fully charge the system in under an hour. The adaptor brick also sports a USB port, and can deliver up to 5W to a smartphone or other tablet to charge it.

The 48 W power brick with its USB charging port is an eminently sensible design.

On Surface RT I had consistent issues with getting the power connector to marry properly. Sometimes it would appear to be magnetically latched, but it would actually be slightly skew and fail to charge the machine. The connector on Surface Pro hasn't had the same issue. It's still fiddly, but I no longer receive the false positives. Maybe it has been slightly tweaked to improve the connection; maybe I'm just more familiar with its foibles.

The pen's magnetic connector doubles up as its right click button.

Surface Pro includes one other big feature not found in the RT: an active digitizer in its screen supporting a touch-sensitive pen. Wacom claims it's their technology being used, though there's no immediate indication in Windows of who made the digitizer. The pen has a barrel button and "eraser" tip, and it's pressure sensitive with 1,024 levels.

When not in use, it attaches magnetically to the charging port, with the barrel button serving dual purpose as the magnetic connector. On the one hand this is surprisingly secure; it should be safe to put the Surface Pro into a bag with its pen attached and not find the two are divorced when you get them out. This is fine when you're not charging the computer, but it means every time you plug into the wall you have to pull off the pen.

The docked pen.

This is downright inelegant. It's going to result in unnecessarily lost pens. An integrated pen garage or holster is the better solution.

Ultimately, it makes me think the Surface Pro was something of an afterthought. Microsoft created the basic system design for the Surface RT, and since that has no active digitizer or pen, it doesn't need a place to store a pen. Rather than create a new design specific to Surface Pro's capabilities, Microsoft has performed a minimal modification of the Surface RT design. This precludes any major modifications such as adding slots for pens—and it's why we have the unfortunate mini-DisplayPort location too.

367 Reader Comments

The fundamental issue here is that the future of tablets isn't in running legacy applications. That is, at best, a stop gap measure because the functionality of those applications does not exist in a touch friendly tablet optimized format. A tablet must be touch driven, hand-held, and all-day portable to be successful. Yes, there are uses that can benefit from an optional keyboard or stylus, but that is the key - they must be optional.

The solution to the productivity problem isn't to run legacy applications. It's to create new applications that provide the same capabilities that run on a proper tablet. If that proves impossible, then that capability simply isn't suited for a tablet in the first place.

This is the major reason that Microsoft is losing the battle for the tablet market. Their main advantage in the desktop world, legacy applications, will continue to be a disadvantage in the tablet wars until they leave them behind. The future will belong to the device and eco-system that delivers the most capability optimized for the target hardware.

Are there people who will find this device useful - yes. Tablet PCs have sold in small numbers since 2001. I just don't see this device changing that in any meaningful way.

<< Stuff Deleted >>

As I said in my original comment, there will definitely be users for which this is a great device. The majority of both consumers and businesses should steer clear.

This right here tells me you don't get how much the average business can and will use this device. The average consumer not so much but the average ENTERPRISE (business) user will get a lot of use out of this.

I pointed out above, they're not set up to sell to the enterprise. Both Surface devices show every sign of being pointed at ipad and just missing the mark. Badly.

Will be looking to refresh the office computers next spring, if this improves with the addition of Haswell/Broadwell and they add a dock it will be our product of choice

the pen/tablet will be perfect for meetings and collaborative work or taking care of simple tasks on the move.. then I can go back to my office and dock it with my keyboard, mouse and monitor work with our old legacy apps (that only recently went from XP to win7) and Office

laptops are too clumsy for meetings.. tablets can't run our main software.. and this is powerful enough to run everything we need.. we're not large enough to make deveolping iOS/Android/Metro apps cost effective..

I agree that RT is a better effort and represents the future for Microsoft, though I'm not convinced that they've acted soon enough. Time will tell.

I still believe that a true productivity tablet can exist, completely touch optimized. The issue is with what productivity you are looking for. Any activity that primarily relies on a mouse on a desktop PC can be translated to a touch interface, but it needs to account for finger input. Any activity that primarily relies on a keyboard cannot. That is the major discriminator. If your productivity applications are primarily based on text entry, do yourself a favour and get a good laptop with a good keyboard. Otherwise, rework your UI to be touch friendly and embrace the tablet form-factor. A touch screen can adequately handle light text entry with a good predictive keyboard.

The problem is that Microsoft is firmly tied to keyboards, with Office being the worst culprit. Therefore they are trying to equate productivity with text entry and have made the keyboard covers a virtual necessity for Surface. Tablets are simply poor choices for that. The tablet as removable core for a docking station has some merit, but I'm simply not convinced that the total cost/benefit of that setup justifies the cost and deficiencies. The majority of users would still gain more benefit from a good ultrabook or a cheap desktop + sync'd dedicated tablet.

In my opinion, the only compelling use case presented in the comments is drawing based using the active digitizer. If you need this capability, this is likely a good choice for you, though the lack of battery life is still a significant concern in real life, particularly without a swappable battery. Anything that relies on keyboard entry isn't. I just don't see that capability generating a lot of sales at this price.

I removed some of our previous text in this reply as an act of mercy to other readers .

Don't get me wrong. I see the tablet in an enterprise - but... Tablet needs an application tailored to a specific use scenario of a specific business and which comes preloaded with most data (at lease most master data) to be used efficiently. Do such scenarios exist? Of course. Can such applications be created? Definitely.

However, Office is not an application that can efficiently live on a tablet without a keyboard. Writing up meeting notes, ideas, short blog posts, writing e-mails - all easy on the go if you have the keyboard. Microsoft guessed that right and realized they could either transform Office into a very lousy tablet software or make a device that caters to tablet use scenarios and still provides the good environment for Office. And wherever you RDP into - you will give thanks for the fact that you have an actual keyboard at your disposal. Doing system administration remotely would be a peace of cake in most situations using RDP on Surface and a pain on a keyboardless tablet (I know - I've tried the second option).

Imagine - sales reps, consultants, journalists, managers, doctors, IT admins, teachers, students... - practically anyone who needs mobility and ability to take notes (at lectures, meetings, in some coffee shop, with a customer...), work on their Word documents or blog posts, collect/analyze/tweak their Excel data, tweak and present their PowerPoint presentations, perform remote command line system administration and shell programming... and as needed connect to their USB printers, use their USB thumb drives or actual external drives, connect their cameras or other useful peripherals... and on top of that surf the web, stream video, Skype, read e-books, listen to music, play casual games...

That is what Surface RT is about. It successfully services all those scenarios without the size and the weight of a laptop or the input restrictions of a pure tablet. And when you are at work or at home - plug it to your monitor, TV and full size keyboard - why not?

I just dont get what is wrong with their marketing. And I don't understand their Surface RT sales model. I almost wish it was an Apple device, I'm almost certain they would know how to make it a hit instead of doing what Microsoft did - go small, go careful and on first sight of trouble shout "But wait till you see Surface Pro!" We're looking at it now and liking RT even better.

One note for the author, when speaking in Decimal it is correct to use the GB (Gigabyte) or Gb (Gigabit) symbols. When speaking in binary GiB and Gib (Or GibiByte and Gibibit respectively).

As the two are (Mostly due to marketing firms) thrown around interchangeably there is no harm in defining your use of GB decimal and GB binary each time, but it may save you a few key strokes to remind people of the GB vs GiB distinction once the first time, and follow through with computer-sciences standards going forth from that point.

Now if we could just convince the marketing firms to use GB and GiB properly we might be able to end a lot of the confusion and disappointment when people are purchasing storage, marketed in GB but processed by the OS in GiB.

That's how I use the RT. The thumb keyboard is my favourite keyboard option, and it means I can hold the device securely in two hands. As I mentioned, I'd actually like to be able to use it like that even when on a desk, but the kickstand and power connector make that awkward.

I totally spaced on the RT's split onscreen keyboard, which is a huge leap forward from the Win 7 onscreen keyboard (or my Touchpad's somewhat annoying to use keyboard).

I can see where if you were used to using that, it would be jarring to go to something where it's less comfortable to do so.

At 2 lbs, at least the Pro's onscreen keyboard remains usable for short stints, but it's definitely not something you'd want to spend a long time typing on while holding it up.

It's definitely not as pretty either (that's a beautiful mechanical pencil!)

But yes, the low friction can be weird to get used to. It's somewhere inbetween a ballpoint pen and a paintbrush, while applying pressure. I'm not sure if you can use other tips like you can for an Intuos... if so, that can really make writing far more comfortable.

The hardware and design look awesome but many people need to dual boot Windows and Linux. The boot loader is probably less locked down than a chromebook, given recent reports. What about providing an equivalent to Apple BootCamp or, even better, a boot loader that actually works like rEFIt or EasyBCD?

Why do you need to dual-boot Linux (it is doable btw)? It's comes with hyper-v. Run Linux in a VM.

But yes, the low friction can be weird to get used to. It's somewhere inbetween a ballpoint pen and a paintbrush, while applying pressure. I'm not sure if you can use other tips like you can for an Intuos... if so, that can really make writing far more comfortable.

You can use any Wacom pen with the surface pro (source: the Reddit AMA with Surface team today)

That's how I use the RT. The thumb keyboard is my favourite keyboard option, and it means I can hold the device securely in two hands. As I mentioned, I'd actually like to be able to use it like that even when on a desk, but the kickstand and power connector make that awkward.

I totally spaced on the RT's split onscreen keyboard, which is a huge leap forward from the Win 7 onscreen keyboard (or my Touchpad's somewhat annoying to use keyboard).

I can see where if you were used to using that, it would be jarring to go to something where it's less comfortable to do so.

It just seemed more natural to me. I don't like using the tablet flat on a table; whether propped up by the kickstand or being handheld, I want the screen face to be parallel to my face. As such, the split keyboard is the more natural one.

I don't get it. I have an iPad and an Alienware M11x (running Windows 8 no less) and I just don't see how this would replace either, let alone both.

Also, isn't this whole idea kind of shooting themselves in the foot? I mean, Apple have created a market where people want both a Mac and an iPad (because they do different things). Microsoft have gone the other way, telling us we only need one product for both jobs. Now I'm no rocket scientist but I'm pretty sure that 1+1 equals a higher number than 1.

At this point I'm hoping BlackBerry and Ubuntu can come up with proper work-oriented tablets on ARM. Something with full-on multitasking like on QNX, an active digitizer with pen, USB peripherals and MicroSD support, all day battery life and a decent bunch of ARM-compiled apps without the sandboxing of WinRT or iOS. Lenovo almost hit the sweet spot with the original Thinkpad Tablet but too bad it runs Android.

I don't get it. I have an iPad and an Alienware M11x (running Windows 8 no less) and I just don't see how this would replace either, let alone both.

Also, isn't this whole idea kind of shooting themselves in the foot? I mean, Apple have created a market where people want both a Mac and an iPad (because they do different things). Microsoft have gone the other way, telling us we only need one product for both jobs. Now I'm no rocket scientist but I'm pretty sure that 1+1 equals a higher number than 1.

Yes, from a strategy point of view, this really doesn't seem to work in favor of increasing MS license sales. MS seems to be under some strange notion that this would convert Android tablet/iPad sales into convertible PC sales, when all it really seems to be doing is motivating a certain niche who will replace their laptop at some point with one of these. No real net gain.

Arm tablets are nearly impulse buys with good Android tablets (Nexus 7) starting at $200 and iPad Mini now starting at $329. Regardless of what else people own, they are going to keep buying these ARM tablets because they are inexpensive, very handy/light weight with long battery life.

I really wanted a solid competitor to the current iOS/Android tablet ecosystem, and in some ways Surface is, but in most ways it's just not. A missed opportunity, and it seems that all the talk about "no compromises" was either hot air or was destroyed by the design phase (this really does look like a 'design by committee' device, if ever there was one).

Most concerning though is the number of people who say "maybe they'll get it right in the next iteration." Why would there be another iteration? Indications are that Surface RT has not been a runaway success, only a modest success at best, and the reviews of the Surface Pro don't look good anywhere when usability is discussed.

At this point, I'm half expecting Microsoft to drop the Pro line to focus on making the RT line more successful. It'd be sad, but you can't profit in business by selling the next model when you're just introducing your brand new one. Who will buy this, when everyone says they're holding off for the next model? And if that isn't as good as hoped, what then?

Microsoft has deep enough pockets to sustain a lot of failure (or 'not success'), but why should they?

To contrast - the iPad was a huge hit pretty much from day one. The Samsung tablets had a slower start, but were doing very well not long after launch. The Kindle was a huge hit from the first day as well. Whether people like it or not, the tablet market is a broad spectrum including the Surface, the iPad, the Kindle and a slew of others, covering many different use-cases. The Surface models are in that market, and the outlook is not as bright as it should have been.

Why do people suppose that there will be future iterations of the Surface Pro, if they're not willing to support the current one by purchasing it?

And to all those writing about how Peter Bright has a Mac-centric bias... welcome to Ars! It's clear you're brand new here and haven't read anything by him before.

I've watched both those videos and I am not seeing anything in either of them that I can't do on an iPad. In fact I can produce a much better looking mind map in far *less* time with the iPad's keyboard using MindNode or iThoughtsHD than it takes the guy to do it with the stylus in the video; and I can do the writing, formulae and sketching in Penultimate and have it searchable afterwards too (the text recognition is performed server side by Evernote who now own Penultimate). What is there that makes a Surface Pro absolutely necessary for either of these demos? Answer - not much, if anything at all.

And now you conveiently forget that with a Surface Pro we can do all that in one device instead of two, plus there is deeper integration with the Microsoft ecosystem specially Office, Skydrive etc. The ironic thing for all the people crying that the Surface/hybrid x86 tablet is a compromise they don't seem to get that their solution is also compromising, but just differently, to different needs.

Quote:

If the only truly stand out thing that Surface Pro has going for it is OneNote, then it doesn't have anything stand out at all.

I agree that it's not for everyone, but to say it doesn't stand out *at all* is clearly false. There are professionals (or even non-professionals) whom have clearly expressed that the accurancy of the digitizer with OneNote is one of the key factor, including people whom had professed that they tried with an iPad but it doesn't work for them. You can't just brush it off and say those people don't exists.

s73v3r wrote:

For the types of simple diagrams these people are drawing, any iPad or Android tablet with a Jot stylus would work just as well, do it cheaper, and do it with far better battery life.

... and then again you miss out on the deep Microsoft Office integration, you are carrying two devices (latptop+ipad) instead of one, not necessarily any cheaper (MacAir+iPad combo for example plus stylus and extra apps on top of Office, instead of just using OneNote INCLUDED in Office already), which is EXACTLY what many of us has been saying why a Surface Pro/hybrid x86 tablet is attractive alternative to this laptop+tablet situation.

For the "LOL iPads/Androids does this too" crowd - why can you see that what you think is a compromise is not the same as what we see as a compromise because our usage and needs are, er, different?

My 2 cents as someone who plans to purchase the Surface Pro after having the following:Asus ep121Kindle FireiPad 3Samsung 500tSurface RT

I am an IT professional who spends a fair amount of time in various meetings and planning sessions. I learned with having the Asus for two years that a tablet with a stylus in meetings is far and away amazing. Onenote with an appropriate computer with Wacom is the killer app for Windows. Until you've used it in this fashion, you won't understand how much easier it makes:Storing notesBringing back up past notes and files (quickly while in the middle of meetings)Easy erasing or inserting blank spaceText recognitionSpeech recognition, and lining up meeting recordings with your notesHaving your own person Google by way of a built out OneNote notebook

Here's why I want the Surface Pro over other Windows tablets:Despite the many criticisms in this article (of which several were just laughable like the fan which only gets loud according to the article in stress tests), there are actually benefits too. I do want a single device for portable. I have a desktop both at home and the office so the quality of the desktop environment isn't huge to me. I'm using my tablet in spurts not in marathons. I just want the ability which makes it incredibly flexible when I need it to be - examples: decent x86 games (even if it won't do Farcry), any USB device, running try creative music or drawing programs, offline syncing of cloud storage, IT utilities, and numerous apps where the apps on any tablet are still inferior. Nearly all of this I'd do from time to time - even if it's only a fraction of what I'd do on my desktop. Having this is worth the sacrifice of battery life to me for now. The side benefit? The speed of the Core i5 tablets blow the socks off anything else.

Next year, I'll be making a different decision. There will be the better chips for x86 both in Atom and with Core i5 (Haswell). The battery life, size, heat (i5 side) and performance (Atom side) - will likely be a leap instead of a jump to what's out today making a trade up worth it. In the meantime, the Pro is the best device to me BECAUSE of it's form factor (not despite it which the Ars article leaves little room for). For certain, we are talking about a market of people who are looking for something very specific - but it does outshine other devices for those people like myself.

It is a device that is small enough to be comfortable to hold (I prefer a ~10" to an ~11" after having both)It has a stylus (this point can't be emphasized enough, capacitive types are ususable)It has a high quality screen (potentially even the best on the market - considering that the RT was already amazing despite it's lower resolution)You always have a keyboard which barely adds anything to the weight or size. When I used both the Asus ep121 and the iPad, I'd never having my my Bluetooth keyboards when I really wanted them and they were always awkward to shift around separately from the device. It's stand is functional without having to require a larger separate case (my iPad was heavier just due to the case so I could a screen cover and upright stand)

Extra couple cents - I'd choose the RT over the iPad, because of the form factor (similar reasons as above but add in the superior 16:9 for watching movies, having a USB port, a real file system, trackpad for Remote Desktop/Citrix, and Office). You can complain about where the Win8 store is with apps, but I'm pretty happy with them and find Windows 8 itself to be more functional as a tablet (in Metro environment). If MS lowered the price, I'd expect that they'd gain mass market appeal quickly with the RT (let's say $400 including a touch cover of your color choice). I wish MS would make the middle child Atom version, but maybe that's to come with next year's Atom chips. My point overall here is that there are advantages to what MS is doing with all of these products. I suspect that it will pay off in a big way a year from now once Windows 8 gets it's first major update, the next line of x86 comes out, and people start to really understand what the advantages are.

The other thing people have to keep in mind: the Surface Pro performs as a compromised tablet and Ultrabook for $1139 (128GB version with keyboard). To get a Macbook Air (barely larger physically with the lowest end model) and an iPad (the lowest cost iPad), it would cost $359 more, and having to carrying both around negates the weight disadvantage of the Surface.

Now, it may be worth it for some to get the Apple combo. But I would rather save the money and know that I got basically the same storage as both together along with the performance and battery life of the Macbook in one device.

The other thing people have to keep in mind: the Surface Pro performs as a compromised tablet and Ultrabook for $1139 (128GB version with keyboard). To get a Macbook Air (barely larger physically with the lowest end model) and an iPad (the lowest cost iPad), it would cost $359 more, and having to carrying both around negates the weight disadvantage of the Surface.

Most people already have the computer they need, and hence they are only adding a tablet. Even if you could back in time before anyone had any devices. You can still buy a better laptop than Surface for $500, and better tablet for $200. In the end the Surface is just one compromised device trying to do two roles in an inferior fashion for a lot more money. There is a certain niche that will go for that, but it is unlikely it will expand much beyond Microsofts traditional tablet niche.

It's a device for those of us who need to do stuff... I'm sure someone will release a nice desktop arm/clamp that solves the long-term work problem.

...

Let's also not forget that having multiple devices is a bit of a pain - the only real solution currently to tying them all together is cloud-based, which is not ideal for people that create content!

People who need to "do stuff", create content, and especially while working at a desk need something with a screen a little (lot) larger than 10.6".

Desktop arm for a 10.6" tablet... I don't even know what to say to that.

You can always have a bigger monitor. I tend to think have a big one at your desk (mine are 27" and 24") - and as small as is usable when portable. You get the best of both worlds this way. Don't forget also - the Surface Pro can easily connect and be the brains of a full desktop setup - large monitor, keyboard and mouse, and any sort of USB device out. This makes it possible to be the truly only device someone has besides their phone. All of this is true for creative and productive people alike.

I can see the appeal for a distinct group of people, it's a great tool for work related use and it should exist and be available to buy.

It's not a consumer device, however. The iPad remains the only "tablet" that offers a compelling experience and it'll probably remain that way for a while.

I think what so many companies seem to not understand is that "tablets" are HARD. The iPad looks like a big iPhone, with a bigger iOS, so the theory has gone that you just need to build a bigger touchscreen smartphone.

A good tablet requires a really high level of attention to detail, with a million different things really thought through, and a million design challenges taken on.

This is just a trial run. Once Haswelll comes out this will be on par with RT in quietness, battery life, etc, while absolutely crushing anything out there in pure performance.

Did you even read the article?

It's the overall concept that's flawed. It's lousy as a tablet and the design is such that you need to use it on a table. It's not even usable on your lap as a laptop. So just what are we sacrificing cost and storage space and convenience for?

No amount of performance at any volume and temperature is going to change these facts.

I have an Acer W500. It's heavier, slower and has a shorter battery life. And I find the thing bloody awesome. Can you plug a Zigbee radio and talk to an Arduino board with an iPad? Can you open a folder with a variety of document types, open all the doc's, flip between 20 webpages and listern to music at once seamlessly on android? Can you open an ebook published in any file type on either?

You can use a Win tablet just like you'ld use a PC or Mac. But most of reviewers are using them like type writters.

In my company all the staff (social workers, support and administrative) have desktop or laptop Windows PCs (that have to be used at their desk).

The executives also receive iPhones (this was the phone choice of the executives).And each executive gets an iPad with a keyboard case like the Zaggfolio.

* (Except for the head of IS) the executives are not computer gurus. They have OK tech skills. (No CAD/Photoshop for instance.)

The executive's iPads are used for;- Taking notes in meetings by typing (which are sent by e-mail in MS Word format to the network and stored in a shared group folder. Pages handles this very well.)- The execs use the iPad for other e-mail of course. - A database of clients is on the devices to be used on trips/weekends.- The iPad has basic photos/presentation materials for small meetings while on the road.

* The iPad is adequate for these tasks. It is relatively cheap ($500) and since the execs have iPhones, the iPad is easy for them to use.

* I don't see where the Surface RT or Pro would lead us to get rid of the iPads and spend the money to get new tech. Because for our uses the Surface does not add anything.

This is just a trial run. Once Haswelll comes out this will be on par with RT in quietness, battery life, etc, while absolutely crushing anything out there in pure performance.

Did you even read the article?

It's the overall concept that's flawed. It's lousy as a tablet and the design is such that you need to use it on a table. It's not even usable on your lap as a laptop. So just what are we sacrificing cost and storage space and convenience for?

No amount of performance at any volume and temperature is going to change these facts.

I have an Acer W500. It's heavier, slower and has a shorter battery life. And I find the thing bloody awesome. Can you plug a Zigbee radio and talk to an Arduino board with an iPad? Can you open a folder with a variety of document types, open all the doc's, flip between 20 webpages and listern to music at once seamlessly on android? Can you open an ebook published in any file type on either?

You can use a Win tablet just like you'ld use a PC or Mac. But most of reviewers are using them like type writters.

But what does this have anything to do with my post? The Acer is two thirds the price and has a better form factor than the Surface Pro for lap use. At least the Acer is a serviceable laptop and a mediocre tablet while the Surface Pro is doomed by design to be mediocre at both tasks.

The Transformer Book seems to have all of the advantages of the Surface Pro (Windows 8 Pro, fast Core i7 CPU, high-quality screen, 128 GB SSD, tablet mode) with the added benefit that you can actually use it like a laptop, in your lap. On top of that, the keyboard is a real keyboard, with a wide variety of ports, and can include a 500GB hard drive.

I suppose the Surface Pro is lighter and smaller, but the Transformer Book seems like a much more appealing package to me.

My N9 (Maemo Harmattan) is not clumsy, not awkward and as far as everybody tells me, dead easy to develop for. Killing Symbian was overdue, but they threw away a successor that was shaping up as something special. It's funny how Nokia/Microsoft themselves have rewritten history.

Maemo was good. But it was yet another platform to develop for. Would it had gained traction? Was it better than the existing alternatives?

Yeah, it remains to be seen what happens with WinMo, it hasn't really taken the world by storm. But would Maemo have done any better? And IIRC the problem with Maemo was that they simply did not have products in the pipeline.

From the tablet perspective, Surface Pro is not acceptable. It gets too hot for a hand-held device, its battery life is woefully inadequate, and it's too thick and heavy to be comfortable to hand hold for long sessions.

Stop trying to use it like your iPad.

Microsoft told me that Surface will excel at tablet-use, are you now saying that they were lying?

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It's been mentioned a couple times, but seriously, take out the pen and fire up OneNote. Go to a press conference/etc and take notes.

So it's a notebook that costs close to thousand bucks?

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Maybe that's not for you, which is fine. But in all seriousness, OneNote and a good pen are the killer feature here.

IIRC, when MS unveiled the surface, they didn't talk about OneNote at all. What they did talk about, was how Surface is a best of breed tablet AND best of breed ultrabook.

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They're what elevate this above a basic media consumption tablet.

OneNote? The thing they didn't talk about at all when they unveiled the thing? Now, this might come as a shock to you, but overwhelming majority of people don't give a flying fuck about OneNote.

It's a device for those of us who need to do stuff... I'm sure someone will release a nice desktop arm/clamp that solves the long-term work problem.

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Let's also not forget that having multiple devices is a bit of a pain - the only real solution currently to tying them all together is cloud-based, which is not ideal for people that create content!

People who need to "do stuff", create content, and especially while working at a desk need something with a screen a little (lot) larger than 10.6".

Desktop arm for a 10.6" tablet... I don't even know what to say to that.

You can always have a bigger monitor. I tend to think have a big one at your desk (mine are 27" and 24") - and as small as is usable when portable. You get the best of both worlds this way. Don't forget also - the Surface Pro can easily connect and be the brains of a full desktop setup - large monitor, keyboard and mouse, and any sort of USB device out. This makes it possible to be the truly only device someone has besides their phone. All of this is true for creative and productive people alike.

If you have a big desktop monitor just laying around, then odds are its plugged into a desktop computer already.

Now as complete speculation, I'd suggest that when Intel gets down to a 10nm process that the iPad 7 or 8 will use that. And you will just plug your iPad via a Thunderbolt cable into your desktop setup. 1 cable, no muss or fuss.

I have an Acer W500. It's heavier, slower and has a shorter battery life. And I find the thing bloody awesome. Can you plug a Zigbee radio and talk to an Arduino board with an iPad? Can you open a folder with a variety of document types, open all the doc's, flip between 20 webpages and listern to music at once seamlessly on android? Can you open an ebook published in any file type on either?

You can use a Win tablet just like you'ld use a PC or Mac. But most of reviewers are using them like type writters.

I also have the W500, and I mostly agree. I find Win8 to be buggy and slow on it, however. Apps take a long time to load, and often just hang until I kill and restart them. When it wakes, for some reason the CPU usage spikes to 50-90% for several seconds. I really hope Microsoft and/or Acer can iron out these issues, because...

otherwise it's pretty darn awesome for ancient hardware. It works with everything I've plugged into it, and when I hook it up to my 1080p monitor, keyboard, and mouse, it's very functional as a desktop PC. And then I unhook it and go to the living room and browse/read/play around for a while. Then, I realize I need to scan something, and in goes the scanner USB cable, and out comes a PDF.

The only other downside about Win8 is that Fruit Ninja is nearly unplayable. I inevitably end up accidently swiping in the charms or other apps as I frantically slice away.

when the iPad came out, the tech was powerful enough to do ARM-based tablets, but not x86 onesand for a few years, that stayed true

now, the tech has come to a stage where x86 tablets (Atom or Core-series based) are VIABLE, and some of them are already pretty good. and this will be even more so in 2013 and 2014, and even MORE SO beyond that

so, this is a new category that can be used as a PC when you are at a desk, and as a tablet and you are not at a desk

i don't try to use my convertible as a laptop when i am not at a desk, because it's supposed to be used as a tabletand i'm not using it as a tablet when i have work to do, because it's supposed to be used as a PC in those cases

it's up to you to decide how to use it ... and it's up to the marketing departments to communicate properly

just don't blame the productthe product does what it has been designed to do, and it does it well

I don't get it. I have an iPad and an Alienware M11x (running Windows 8 no less) and I just don't see how this would replace either, let alone both.

Also, isn't this whole idea kind of shooting themselves in the foot? I mean, Apple have created a market where people want both a Mac and an iPad (because they do different things). Microsoft have gone the other way, telling us we only need one product for both jobs. Now I'm no rocket scientist but I'm pretty sure that 1+1 equals a higher number than 1.

If you put things like that than there would never be a smartphone as there were already phones, computers and standalone GPS navigation devices.Bringing together different technologies, concepts and use cases in a single device is not always bad and is sometimes revolutionary.

There are many people that would consider Surface not as a replacement for their desktop or laptop but as something that makes much more sense to them than pure tablet. There are also many people that would rather go about their meetings, classes, field research carrying lighter and smaller devices with better autonomy than their current laptop.

I would buy RT for my wife instantly IF it was available for me to buy.

I would buy Pro for myself if it allowed better autonomy not for x86 compatibility but for digitizer. Autonomy is however a real issue because if I happen to forget the power supply I cant't hope that someone else in a meeting might have one that I could borrow. And my visits to clients tend to last longer than 4-5 hours as that is how we organize our work. So I would most likely also get RT instead (and give up on digitizer) IF it was available for me to buy.

Microsoft did little wrong with the overall concept of Surface (although I find RT a much better feature mix than Pro in current iteration). Problem is elsewhere. You state it yourself indirectly when you say "Apple have created a market". That IS the problem. There are people (consumers and businesses) that can make extremely good use of both Surface models. But that fact alone doesn't constitute a market. Microsoft needs to sucessfully address those consumers and businesses and "create a market".

I feel that Microsoft is not taking the right approach by repeating Apple's iPad strategy (announce, make available only in US through own stores, slowly expand availability). That strategy may have been OK for Apple in 2010 but is confusing for Microsoft these days. In 2010 Apple could expect people coming to their stores as iPhone and other Apple hardware were powerful drivers for that. They didn't rely just on Steve Jobs charisma and devotion of their fans - and even if they did they would be better off than Microsoft is today (one day you see Sinofsky skateboarding on a Surface, next day you see him skateboarding out of Microsoft and all before Surface Pro launched).

Microsoft has no existing powerful drivers for bringing right consumers to their stores (no WP is not there yet - not even close). Tech enthusiasts and IT professionals will drop in but they are not the ones Microsoft needs to create a market for Surface. And current Surface price points are not agressive enough to give Surface a much required boost. Microsoft needed to make surface globally available and slightly cheaper. Now I'm worried that if they are dissapointed with Surface sales they will simply scratch it from existence rather than rethink their strategy. And then we will have to wait for some time before someone else delivers more or less the same thing (with some minor concept changes) and markets it better.

There is a serious downvoting issue on this site. One of my posts n this thread got downvoted into oblivion when I pointed out that the MacBook has the same internal specs as the surface, the same battery life but lacking touch, a pen and the windows ecosystem and is yet considered a preferable product by the author. *some* folks on this site live to downvote others I guess.

I actually understand why Peter thinks so. Instead of the Surface Pro most people would probably benefit from a better Ultrabook rather than a hybrid device like the Surface. The ergonomics of a real Ultrabook are better for content creation and while it won't be quite as good for media consumption, it still works sufficiently well for that, too, unless you need to use the device while standing or on a crowded public transport.

That said, I don't really get people who carry around a laptop and a large (10+ inch) tablet. It's like having a large smartphone/phablet with a 4.5"-5.5" screen AND a 7-9" tablet. Those devices are way too close in functionality for it to make much sense. With just a little compromising you could leave the other one home.

It's a device for those of us who need to do stuff... I'm sure someone will release a nice desktop arm/clamp that solves the long-term work problem.

...

Let's also not forget that having multiple devices is a bit of a pain - the only real solution currently to tying them all together is cloud-based, which is not ideal for people that create content!

People who need to "do stuff", create content, and especially while working at a desk need something with a screen a little (lot) larger than 10.6".

Desktop arm for a 10.6" tablet... I don't even know what to say to that.

Not all creation is done at a desk. I am reading this from my office desk, but its the first time I have sat here for almost three weeks. Just like the geezer dumah above I need all aspects of a Windows machine but I don't know what - OneNote, Word, Excel, Mail, AD and Juniper VPN connections, running ERP software, PowerPoint and so on - all the stuff we management types do. I use a ThinkPad just as another 3,999 management types in my company do, so having a Surf Pro to take out is our only option. I accept the company will pay and will buy the next version as well, but already IT is looking to roll them out. I look forward to it. And all the critical remarks as I use it on the Tube in London, but I don't have weak wrists.

If you put things like that than there would never be a smartphone as there were already phones, computers and standalone GPS navigation devices.Bringing together different technologies, concepts and use cases in a single device is not always bad and is sometimes revolutionary.

Yeah, it can be a good thing, and often is. Like I said earlier, the GPS in my phone can locate itself in few seconds, thanks to cell-tower triangulation. Standalone GPS takes several minutes, because it can't do that triangulation, and has to rely on satellites only. And for cameras, when I take pictures with my phone, I can edit the pictures right there and then, get geotagging and I can upload them right away. Those are all good things that benefit the user.

But the surface... It's not as good a laptop as a proper laptop is, and it's not as good a tablet as a proper tablet is.

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There are many people that would consider Surface not as a replacement for their desktop or laptop but as something that makes much more sense to them than pure tablet.

Well, that's not what MS is saying. They are saying that Surface replaces both tablet and laptop.

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There are also many people that would rather go about their meetings, classes, field research carrying lighter and smaller devices with better autonomy than their current laptop.

It's not all that smaller or lighter than an ultrabook, and it's battery-life isn't really any better. So where's the benefit?